http://www.tacam.org/docs/av/av_06_summer_fall

2006 summer - fall

Anatolian Voice

cumhuriyet bayramı yeni türkü making pekmez travelling vancouver

Making Pekmez

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Cumhuriyet Bayramı 7

Contents

Making Pekmez 12 Travelling Vancouver 18

2006 SUMMER-fall • VOL 8 ISSUE 26

President’s Letter 3 Schedule of Events 4 Open Book 4 İlkim-Serdar Wedding Pinar-Brett Wedding Bir Kır Partisi mi, Kina Geçesi mi?

Mi-Hut Café Opening / İftar Dinner Yeni Türkü ATAA Convention Moda Blue / Turkish School Zafer Bayramı

about Turkish Culture 9 the Turkish Kitchen 22

Editor’s Letter 23

feature articles

Dear Friends,

I

t is hard to imagine that 7 months passed since we took responsibility of TACAM for this year. Our organization, TACAM, has been a home for many of us for years.

As the new board of directors, we have worked very hard to bring new faces and members to TACAM. We certainly believe that we have accomplished many of our goals. We also realize that we have a lot to do.

We have completed numerous successful events, the Father’s Day Picnic, Traditional Turkish Breakfast Day and Victory Day celebration, İftar dinner during Ramadan, the opening of the Turkish school, Republic ball and Yeni Türkü concert. I hope that you attended at least one of these events to support your local organization if not all of them.

As you think about the events that you attended, I would like you to remind that board of directors, their families and other volunteers spent hours and days to prepare for these events. We certainly do not expect anything from anyone but a strong attendance for TACAM events. We believe attendance was very good and we hope to increase it for the coming events.

We are listening to our members who are open and make constructive criticism to our organization events. They ask us to bring more cultural events, more international events to Michigan. There is no question that this is also our goal. When we plan on these events we know it is going to take a lot of time and effort to make it happen. Our board is willing to spend all the time necessary as long as we have support from our members. Yeni Türkü event is a primary example for this. We needed a strong sponsorship in order to take on this event. After we made personal calls we were able to find enough funds to continue for this event.

In order for us to bring more events to Michigan, we need to increase membership to TACAM and have broad sponsorship for the events. We will organize numerous other projects throughout the year in an effort to bring many new faces to TACAM and create strong ties among the all members and non members. There are many people show up in our events that are not member for various reasons.

We can not force anyone to become a member however, what we can do is to ask and encourage them to become one.

A newer initiative TACAM has taken up is the “Turkish School.” The goal of this program is to create a semi-formal setting where students will feel comfortable and be encouraged to speak Turkish. We plan to have fun activities, games, discussion groups, and perhaps even a Turkish poem reading night, to make this learning experience more enjoyable. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this school and bring their kids and non-Turkish speaking family members. For more information please visit the related section in our web site.

For those planning ahead, we will be organizing a New Year dinner and entertainment night for the new year. The New Year dinner will take place at the club house near 12 mile and Telegraph on December 31st. Details will be posted soon. We also plan to have a Turkish Music and Dance night in February. As you can imagine we will also have a Spring Ball planned for April 2007. Dates and places for these events will be posted as soon as they are finalized.

As I finish my message here, I would like to encourage all our non-member readers to become a member to our organization. We look forward to having you as a member. We also thank our current members for their continuous support.

President’s Letter

Mehtap Aksoy 2006-2007 TACAM PRESIDENT

Anatolian

2006 - 2007 Schedule of events

Recurring Events Turkish Language Classes Anatolian Voice Newsletter

TBA

Educational / Cultural Events Children activities (play and learn) & Career Fair for Kids Family Financial Planning Historic Presentation “Istanbul’un Fethi”

check TACAM.org for the latest information and times.

Please join us for our monthly events.

December 31 SUNDAY . New Year’s Party and Kurban Bayrami Celebration

January ALL Month & TBA . Membership Drive and Fundraising Night for 2007 Calender Year

February TBA . Presentation on other Turkic Groups: by Keyimu Aihemaitijiang

March TBA . Turkish Night with Döner

Stay up-to-date with the latest community news, events and interesting topics from our members

Open Book

Community News The Wedding Bells for İlkim and Serdar

Written by Mİne Özalp

Our dearest İlkim and Serdar were another couple who joined their lives this summer. On September 22nd, the newly-weds were joined by their family and about 85 guests at a very nicely decorated clubhouse in Ann Arbor to celebrate their very special day. The beautiful bride İlkim looked so happy and elegant in her off-white color dress and gorgeous flowers as they walked into the place and danced to the song “Swing” by Dean Martin. Serdar was very handsome.

The food was plenty and very delicious and the music was very entertaining. We all danced to Turkish music and to some Latin salsa and merengue until the late hours of the night.

I am very happy to be a part of İlkim and Serdar’s special day. We wish you two a very happy life together…

Pinar and Brett’s Special Day August 19th, a beautiful summer day, our very own Pinar and Brett joined their hands and lives in marriage in ever so beautiful Gross Point War Memorial over looking the Lake St. Clair. But nothing was more beautiful than Pinar. Very gracefully she walked into the room where Brett was waiting for her…

And a few moments later, they were pronounced husband and wife.

The guests were clapping and cheering when Brett was repeating the wedding wows in Turkish after Yüksel, as if Turkish was his native

Schedule of Events

Written by Mİne Özalp

tongue. That brought tears to my eyes…

After the wedding ceremony, we walked into the reception hall which was very elegantly decorated all in white.

Pinar and Brett’s families were both present, dancing and celebrating this very special day with all of us.

Beautiful newly weds, great company, elegant place and good music, it was a day never to be forgotten not only for Pinar and Brett but for all of us who were there to witness their very special day.

open book

Bir Kır Partisi mi, Kina Gecesi mi?

Gunesli bir gun hayal edin, gol kenarinda! Yemyesil bir bahce, bir de beyaz guzel ev kondurun kenarina. Sari, mor balonlar hafif esen ruzgarda dans etmeye baslasin muzik olmasa da. Bu mekan Mehtap’in bahcesi olsun. Masalar tasinsin Zeynel ve Mete’nin yardimlari, Ozlem ve Mine’nin direktifleriyle… Haydaa! Bu masalar yetmez di mi Birsel’cim. Eee ne yapacaz?

Costco! Costco! Mehtap torba var mi?

Mehtap makas var mi? Mehtap seloteyp var mi? Mehtap sen en iyisi yukarda dur, bizim aklimiza hersey teker teker geliyor, sen yukardan bize ativer. Sari ortuler, eflatun mumlar, hersey “picture perfect” olmali sevgili Ebru’muz icin.

Eyvah kizlar, 15 dakikaya herkes burda olacak, kosun giyinelim. Ebru’nun misafirlerine bu halde mi cikacagiz.

Hatunlar kosuda.

Ebru’nun patronu Kati cok tatli ve sophisticated bir kadin..

Ebru beni tanistirirken “ice-breaker” cumleyi kullaniyor, nerdeyse tum dunyayi gezdi. Kadin demez mi, Bolivya’ya gittin mi? Hah iste sistim. Rezil oldum, rezil! Ebru hemen imdada yetisiyor ama Peru’ya gitti, sayilir. Patron’la Hindistan sohbetine giriyorum, soyle pis boyle pis, birde arkama bakinca ne goreyim. Hintli Priya. Cok da hos bir hatun. Oh iste acarmisin ceneni! Bir daha rezil olursun boyle! Korkumdan butun gece Priya’ya tek kelime etmiyorum, gene Ebru yetisyor

Written by Mehpare Gençyüz

imdadima, “canim bilmiyor mu sanki ulkesini”.

Yemekler yeniliyor, yabancilar Turk dansi hakkinda bilgilendiriliyor. Simdi sira kultur dersinde. Kina merasimi basliyor. Birsel artik kina toreninin kitabini yazacak, bu isi gozu kapali yapiyor. Mine adimlar nasildi? Ozlem sen onden git, daha iyi beceriyorsun.

Priya’ya da bak sen, kinayi karmayi, desenli kina yapmayi herkesden iyi bilirmis meger. Beyza cok akilli, hemen koluna kina tattoo yaptiriyor. Damat Ron’in ablasi Karen ve kucuk kizi Alli de geleneksel Turk kiyafetlerini giyiyor.

Ebru’nun kiyafeti ise ozel. Birsel’in 150 senelik bindallisi. Isiklar sonuyor.

Paparazi Metenin flaslari suratimizda patliyor ve kina konvoyu misafirlerin onune cikiyor. Bangir bangir “yuksek yuksek tepelere ev kurmasinlar caliyor”. Ebru locaya kuruluyor.

Aglatmak icin cimdiklemeye gerek yok, o zaten agliyor. Gelin elini acmiyor diyor, Birsel. Kayinvalide gelenekleri nerden bilsin, durtuklemek gerekiyor. Ne kadar vericem diyor. Ne verirsen diyoruz. Sonunda kina yapiliyor. Bakin Ebru ne yapiyor, gidip kayinvalidesinin elini opuyor. Aferin be Ebru!

Ben bile unutmusum bu gelenegimizi…

Bir kina daha boyle geciyor… Sevgiyle, arkadaslikla dostlukla…

Mi-Hut Café Opening

Mi-Hut is a cozy and neat café in a busy location in Ypsilanti on Pearl street. Behice and Hakan are running the place and will keep the traditional American sandwich varieties, muffin and coffee selections as well as Turkish dishes. Available for group reservations with Turkish music, tavla, TV and League

İftar Dinner

Written by Erol Ahmed

Keeping tradition alive, our TACAM members gather together for an İftar Dinner during the month of Ramadan. This holy month indirectly brings friends in sharing meals together and enjoying each other’s compnay.

Written by Asli Yaşin

Matches. Special Mediterranean menu on request with Meze and Zeytinyağlı dishes. Student discounts and much, much More. The regular café hours: 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, 124 Pearl Street Ypsilanti, MI 48197, Next to BW3.

India Presentation

Written by Erol Ahmed

On September 24th friends of the Turkish community gathered to watch the live presentation on Metin and Mehpare’s travels through India and Nepal, which the Anatolian Voice covered last quarter’s issue in Travelling India and Nepal.

Open Book

open book

a Musical Extravaganza - Yeni Türkü

Written by Mehtap Aksoy

N

ovember 3, 2006, Friday night was a great night for TACAM and all music lovers in Michigan. TACAM board of directors and Yeni Türkü event committee worked very hard to bring this event to all Turkish music fans. This event was costly but at the same time it was the most profitable event in recent history of TACAM. I personally like to thank Yeni Türkü event committee one more time and especially to Ogun Arslan.

Last two months, we have been getting calls every evening, regarding changing schedules of the group, music systems, locations, tickets, sponsors, hotel arrangements, budget, etc. On the other side of the phone there were many people. Most of the time, it was Yeni Türkü marks one of Ogun making comments, explaining decisions, asking TACAM’s most profitable questions, going over the progress or simply just talking events about the event. Serkan was sending e-mails daily regarding the ticket design, program book, ticket prices.

Meanwhile Didem is directing financials and making sure that we will not be in the red once the event is over.

Zeynel is in daily communication with all of them and making his quick comments in a hurry and then ten minutes later saying “let me call him or her back — say I did not mean it”. Burak, Hülya, Onur and Özlem, the other members of the committee were working very hard in the background to bring more sponsors while Cihangir is posting daily mails to bring more attention to this event. At the end, we had the event successfully completed with over 240 people attending.

Many thanks to all our sponsors with special thanks to gold sponsors, especially Dr. Ahmet Karaca for his generous contribution to encourage the committee to move forward with this project. I would like to thank Turkish Canadian Cultural Association of Windsor, Café Zola and of course all of our guests who were dancing all evening.

Yeni Türkü was very happy with the entire organization. They mentioned many times that the organization in Michigan was far better than other sites.

As you will see in the following picture even our youngsters were keeping them company at the back stage making sure they have all their needs.

It was also great night for me personally to see many friends after a long time.

I hope to see all of them again in our next event. I have talked to many people who said the same thing. They met their friends and also made new friends. Let’s keep this spirit going and come together again to meet new faces and see old friends at the same time.

“

Open Book

open book

Republic Day Gala - Cumhuriyet Bayramı

“

Written by Mehpare Gençyüz

Let’s be one!

Let’s be heard as one voice!

W

e celebrated our “Republic Day” at Greenfield Manor on Oct 21st. The hall, food, the organization of the night and our TACAM team who put this event together were wonderful.

We explained the Republic and Atatürk to Ron (Ebru’s husband - the honorary Turk). We said that he was like George Washington, just to give an example from American history. Instead we learned from Ron. He said that we couldn’t compare him to Washington. Washington didn’t abolish an existing regime and didn’t fight against so many enemies. Ron, you don’t need a lecture from us. Obviously, you are very sophisticated and well-aware of Turkish history.

Thanks for being so interested in our history.

I still have a dream, though.

Turks holding Turkish flags put tears into my eyes again. I stood up. Why didn’t we all? Why didn’t we all go on the stage together and hug each other and celebrate our most wonderful bayram. Please, next time, let’s unite, hold our flags together and sing our Cumhuriyet Marşı altogether.

Let’s be one! Let’s be heard as one voice! Can we make my dream come true next time?

Ne Mutlu Türküm Diyene!

Open Book

open book

27th Annual ATAA Convention

T

Written by Beyza Sarioğlu 2005-2007 TACAM Vice-President

“

he ATAA convention is the leading annual conference on Turkey organized by a Turkish-American organization.

This year the theme of the convention was “Building Bridges to Strengthen Relations.” The convention took place between November 9th-11th, at the Shereton National Hotel in Washington DC. A large group of Turkish-Americans went to Washington from Detroit for the convention.

Although the convention started on Thursday, we joined the group on Friday. That evening we attended Gençay Kasapcı Exhibit with wonderful paintings that incorporated modern art with traditional symbols like the evil eye, then we went to the Ambassador’s Reception that was held at the Turkish embassy. After the reception we all went to a Turkish restaurant for a feast.

Saturday morning we attended various panels organized

by ATAA, which brings together high profile guests from all around the US as well as Turkey. Saturday afternoon, most of us went to Georgetown for some shopping and more Turkish food. We even found some Turkish hairdressers to get ready for the evening. On Saturday evening we all attended Convention Gala and Republic Day Ball. Eight of the ten TACAM Board members were present at the Gala.

One of the past TACAM presidents, Leylâ Ahmed, and the Honorary Consulate General of Michigan, Nurten Ural, where also there. Nurten will take over the ATAA presidency

Open Book

Congratulations,

Madame President.

from Vural Cengiz. On behalf of TACAM, I would like to say “Congratulations, Madame President. We are very proud of you and are 100% behind you.”

At the gala, TACAM was awarded with the ATAA friendship award along with Turkish American organizations in Washington and Chicago. As the TACAM board, we have established new contacts within Turkish-American Organization networks and met wonderful new friends.

After all, we did build bridges to strengthen relations. We will continue to share best practices. Thank you ATAA for organizing such a wonderful event.

It was very encouraging to see all Turkish American Organizations from all over the country united under the ATAA umbrella. United we stand!

Learn about Turkish Culture Here is reproduced a comical folk tale from the collection of Nasrettin Hoca The Cat

and the Liver

After the Hoca got the recipe for liver from his friend, he bought some liver and because he liked it very much, he wanted to eat it often. But everytime when he brought livers he couldn’t eat them, because his wife said that the cat took the liver and fled away. One day the Hoca became angry and said: “Woman, I brought liver! Where is it?”

“Oh,” said his wife “the silly cat took it and fled away.”

At the same time the cat was in the room. The Hoca caught it and weighted the cat. Then he said: “That is exactly two kilos. And the liver which I brought was also two kilos. Now tell me: If that is the liver where is my cat; if that is the cat, then I want my liver.”

A New Turkish Store in Ann Arbor Nothing like walking on the streets of America as a Turk and seeing a store with a Turkish name. It brings a breeze from the homeland. If you were in Georgetown near Washington DC, you sure would run into a Turkish hair salon, or in Paterson, New Jersey, it would be a Turkish restaurant.

Not quite to that level may be, but Ann Arbor Michigan is one of the lucky cities to have Turkish entrepreneurs: Ayşe’s Café, Café Zola, Ionnia, and now a new clothing store called Moda Blue.

Our very own Diana and Ali Benli opened a new store called Moda Blue on August 26, 2006, in Nickels Arcade in downtown Ann Arbor, right across from another Turkish store Ionnia, owned by İlkim and Serdar. Nickels Arcade is an indoor walkway between Maynard and State Streets, and is home to some of Ann Arbor’s upscale clothing and specialty shops. The ornate stonework and tiled floor, the atrium-style ceiling, the potted plants at store entrances and the tall columns at the State

Turkish Classes for Children

Our Turkish classes started in October at Ural Interiors at 11am. Please call 248.763.9544 or email@tacam.org to register Now. TACAM is proud to bring an exciting Turkish School to the children of our community. Classes will be held in a dynamic environment to make learning the Turkish language, culture and heritage fun and long

Written by Mİne Özalp

Street end of the arcade exude an atmosphere of antiquity.

During the store’s grand opening, my dear friend Diana and Ali were very excited to have materialized a dream of theirs. Their new store was not only full of beautiful Turkish clothing, but they were also circled by their family and many friends. I could not stop myself from shopping. I felt like I was in a store in İstanbul. The same taste, same fashion; I highly recommend that you make a trip to their store… You will love it.

of Note

lasting. Tell all your friends who have kids between the ages of 3 and 11 about this great news. The children will love coming to the classes and the parents will be overjoyed by their progress. It’s not too late to join in!

Open Book

open book

TACAM Celebrates Zafer Bayramı

TACAM celebrated another Zafer Bayramı with its members and friends. The clown was a great fun for the kids. He made all kinds of animals with balloons for the kids. Our very own cotton candy chef created treats for both kids and adults for the bayram.

Adults enjoyed the treat as much as the kids. Friends gathered under the tent in the yard and had a Turkish breakfast with simit and beyaz peynir. Thanks to everyone for their effort and time. It’s always good to be among friends, especially on these important days.

TEXT by Mehpare Gençyüz

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Open Book

]ARTICLES

THE

summer - fall

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“”

What results is a two-day celebrationof the land where aunts and uncles, mothers and fathers

children and friends gather in any way possible to create the sweat elixir of

a trip to the countryside

Pekmez

making • PEKMEZ

13 TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY EROL AHMED

P

ekmez begins from just a small seed, the seed of the Mahmut pear family. These trees dot the landscape in Uzuntarla, the countryside village only an hour southeast of İstanbul and fifteen minutes

from İzmit. The house of my grandfather in Uzuntarla is lucky enough to have around five fully mature trees: each branch is teeming with pears that pull the tree closer to the ground. It is then around mid-July, when the days are becoming hotter and longer, that these mature trees offer their golden, red hued pears for picking. What results, is a two-day celebration of the land, where aunts and uncles, mothers and fathers, children and friends gather in any way possible — and throughout the night — to create the sweat elixir of Pekmez.

When my family and I first arrived in Uzuntarla and after we were finished with our hellos, the conversation quickly and unassumingly turned to Pekmez, because for me, my stay in Uzuntarla was never complete if this pear-molasses was not made. And my friends and relatives in Turkey were just as eager to start gathering the pears before they fell to the ground and rotted. We then began on July eleventh just days after the wedding that brought us back to Turkey of Tanya and Güngör Akay. What follows is an account of the steps, pitfalls and pleasures in making Pekmez.

Pekmez is more normally thought of as grape molasses and is sold as such; however, any fruit could possibly be used ranging from sweet grape to sour plum (erik). As mentioned previously, we used the pears from the Mahmut pear trees.

They have a very sweet taste and a thin skin, which allows them to be devoured in two bites. Their seeds are barely noticeable and when the pears reach ripeness they turn yellow with blotches of soft red.

You hear them dropping constantly on the ground throughout the day. Honeybees also seem to be an admirer of these fruits and if you do not pick them up off the ground the bees and rotten pears will soon conquer your garden.

At any rate, to begin first lay a large tarp underneath a tree teaming with ripe fruit, then find yourself a young lad willing to climb barefoot, thirty- to fifty-feet in the air to jump and shake like an ape to force these pears to the ground. Then usually the men gather and sort out the fallen branches, leaves and fruit and carry over just the fruit to the women. Now I must admit there was quite a large number of earwigs crawling about the tarp, which I found disgusting. Personal fears aside, these pears are carried over to be washed and cut.

In a large cauldron, (which you will need two of) the pears are immersed in water and the small twigs and leaves float to the top.

Very rotten pears are discarded. Then, the stems and bottoms of the pears are cut off, the remaining cut-pears are divided into fourths and finally the seeds are removed. These two steps of 14

Feature Articles

collecting and cutting consume a good part of the morning and afternoon but allows for everyone to get outside and see each other. We then place the pears back into the cauldron with just enough water to prevent burning. We placed this over very long branches of wood that are slowly slid underneath the cauldron as the wood is consumed. For another few hours, the pears slowly boil and give off their juices: the water becomes a light caramel color and the pears become extremely soft. We decided that during this time that a light meal of sucuk, fresh bread and tea would be just right and we all ate and went about the day’s other events.

In my opinion, this next step requires patience and good armstrength, for when the pear-broth is sufficiently boiled, it must be squeezed to separate pear-mass from pear-juice. Again, find yourself a strong women and set up a station of an inclined wooden board tilting into a large washbasin to collect the falling juices. We used sanitized nylon-weave bags that were woven to allow liquid to pass through but not solid. My aunts told me that cheesecloth could also be used, which in Turkey is referred to as tülbent, so named for the head-covering worn by women at funerals. As they squeeze and vigorously press this bag of cooked pears, what remains is pearjuice and posa, which is the pear-mass that is thrown away. At this point it is perplexing to see hours of work culminate into a pile of pear-mush and pear-juice.

This juice is put back into the cauldron and placed once again on the fire: here is where the craft of making Pekmez is most important for it requires careful attention, patience and years of trial-and-error-experience, unlike in the large food factories, where the previous steps are usually rolled into two. What you get is a mystery juice of whatever was so unlucky as to be caught in the machine at the time of pressing. But our Pekmez is completely handmade. It is becoming evening and most of us are having dinner. My two aunts (Shangül Yenge and Hülya Teyze) who organized this whole affair were left with this responsibility.

This second boiling of the pear-juice can last easily from six to

ten hours and as I recall pear-juice was still cooking well into the night. These two were working from morning until dawm.

After many hours of boiling, a foam — similar to that on top of Turkish coffee — will form and must be removed with a ladle that has holes since if the foam is left behind it will turn the Pekmez bitter. At this point, we were reaching the most crucial point, that is, determining when to take the pearjuice-turned-Pekmez off the fire. Like preparing caramels and candies, a difference of even a few minutes can determine whether we ended up with sweat Pekmez or hard sugar. If cooked too long it will be useless and if taken off the fire too soon, the Pekmez will be thin and spoil. In Uzuntarla, they took a white plate and dropped some of the cooking Pekmez on the plate to check for color (in this case a dark caramel), smell, thickness and taste. I have no idea what the specifics are nor do I know the temperature of the Pekmez: one could only learn from experience.

And it is finished! Almost, the Pekmez must then be divided into clean jars and allowed to cool. The jars cannot be sealed until completely cool. Apparently, it is very difficult dividing the Pekmez and this is where social obligations and balances are made. Everyone contributes a little bit more and less and in the highly connected atmosphere of the village, it was very interesting to see this finer, personal point take place in the middle of the night as I watched my aunts debate over who will receive how much Pekmez.

Lastly, after everyone has rested, gather some fresh bread, spread kaymak on it and drizzle yesterday’s Pekmez on top. Enjoy this with a glass of warm tea and your friends and family that helped create this special treat. A treat that was once common in the past as “poor man’s sugar,” but wonderfully exceptional today. And this is how one goes about not just making Pekmez but experiencing the pleasures of the everyday.

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opposite page, top to bottom My father and Aydın Amca discuss what all that pear mush is in the cauldron, which we can see in the first-stage of cooking in the center top picture. Hülya Yenge gazes patiently at this consuming project. Aunts, mothers and wives gather for some talk and some pear cleaning. Berkan Ağabey in the bottomost picture carries firewood, while his mother Shengül Yenge empties the cauldron at the end of the first cooking.

This page, top to bottom The men gather to collect the pears from the ground and trees using simply a tarp and ladders. Sühelya Teyze and her neighbor laugh heartily while pears in the lower right are being dumped for the first cooking.

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Feature Articles

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travelling Vancouver Travelling Vancou-

18

Overlooking endless pine forests, a narrow bridge, suspended in mid-air, guides travellers to higher ground.

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY MEHPARE Gençyßz

C

arsamba gUnU Mete’nin yeni isi kesinlesince, persembe hemen Travelocity.com’dayiz, cumada ucakda. Ver elini Vancouver. Eski patronum Brad, mail’ini yanlis mi okudum yoksa yarin

Vancouver’a mi gidiyorsunuz diye soruyor. Biz boyle hop orda, hop burda, hop kapi arkasinda olmayi seviyoruz. Is arkadasim Krystina soruyor, gideceginiz yerleri nasil seciyorsunuz? Esden dosttan soruyoruz, tavsiyelerine kulak veriyoruz.

Vancouver oldukca Avrupai bir sehir. Herkes sokaklarda yuruyor, lokantalar, cafeler masalarini sokaklara kurmus, musteriler bir masadan digerine laf atip dunya meselelerini konusuyor. Taksi soforlerine Turkuz diyince, Istanbul diyor bilmis bilmis. Guney Afrikali olanin kizi gecen sene Istanbul’a gitmis bile, ne haber?

Vancouver’un cogunu Istanbul’un Asya tarafina, Bagdat caddesine benzetiyoruz, apartmanlari, alt katlarindaki dukkanlari, lokantalari ve cafeleri ile.

Vancouver’in havaalanina iner inmez bayiliyoruz. Totem direklerini koymuslar, dogayi canladirmislar, selaleler, agaclar, kizilderili desenleri cizmisler. Ne guzel derken derken gumrukden gececegimiz bolgeye geliyoruz, o da ne? Gumruk kuyrugunda ben diyeyim 1000, siz deyin 2000 kisi. Hic abartmiyorum, tum Alaska cruise’culari siralanmis. Amanin, ne yapacagiz? Bekle babam bekle, haci olacagiz baska caresi yok.

Gastown’a yuruyoruz. Sabahin 4’unden beri ayaktayiz, Vancouver saatiyle saat aksam 5 olmus, karnimiz zil caliyor. Masalarini disariya koymus Water Street café’de enfes bir somon yiyoruz. Demek somon dondurulmadan pisirilince boyle pembe ve lezzetli oluyormus, yumulalim Mete. Café’nin karsisinda da dunyada tek ornegi kalmis, meshur buharla calisan saat.

I k i ton agirliginda bu saat ara ara Westminister nameleri caliyor. Her ne kadar cok eski gozukse de, 1977 yapimi.

Gastown adi, odunculara bar isletmeye baslayan Gassy Jack Deighton’dan geliyor. 1876’larda bu bolgeye Gassy’nin kasabasi denirmis. Gastown Vancouver’in ilk resmi ismiymis. Gastown Arnavut kaldirimlari ve Viktoryan stili evleriyle gorulmeye deger bir bolge.

Otele donup pencereden marinayi, ve ilerideki cruise gemilerinin yanastigi gemi rihtimini seyrediyoruz.

Sabah hummali gezi plani basliyor. Once hop on hop off bus tour’una katiliyoruz, su iki katli Ingiliz otobuslerinden ama cok da hosumuza gitmiyor. Once alt katta oturuyoruz. Tur sirketi alt katin camlarini sirketin logosuyla boyadigindan disarisi pek secilmiyor. Ama biz sehri gormeye tura cikmisiz. Ne mantik degil mi? Yukarisi bosalir bosalmaz, hemen zipliyoruz, neyse yukarisi daha zevkli.

Orjinali 1889’da insaa edilmis Capilano Bridge’e gidiyoruz, altindan bir nehir gecen 300 ft (70m) yuksekliginde celik halatlarca tutturulmus 1333 kisiyi

tasiyabilen 140 m uzunlugunda bir kopru burasi. Bismillah basliyorum yurumeye. Chitchen Itza’dan sonra bende yukseklik korkusu basladi, ama “yapabilirim yapablirim” telkiniyle yurumeye basliyorum. Millet saka olsun diye zipliyor koprude, aliyor mu bir korku, zaten kolay midem bulanip basim doner, yok Mete devam edemeyecegim.

Mete hastalandigimi anlamiyor israrda. Sonunda bir muddet oturup midemin normale donmesini beklememiz gerekiyor.

Grousse Mountain bir dahaki duragimiz. Teleferikle cikiyoruz 4100 ft yuksekligindeki daga. Bu da Mete’nin ilki.

Yukarida oduncularin, odun kesme, duz direklere tirmanma yarislarini seyrediyoruz. Yuksek agaclari kesebilmek icin once agaca derin centik aciyorlar kalinca bir tahta parcasini arasina geciriyorlar onun ustune basip biraz daha yukari bir centik daha acip bu sefer baska bir tahta parcasini yukaridaki centige geciriyorlar, boyle boyle agacin tepesine erisiyorlar.

Ogle yemegi icin secimimiz gene somon tabiiki.

Arkasindan cukulatali muzlu kreple kendimize ziyafet cekiyoruz.

Vancouver “Hollywood North” diye aniliyor. Yol kenarlarinda renkli ok gorurseniz bilin ki oralarda bir film cekiliyor. Polis de cok yardimci. Trafigi durduruyor.

Simsiyaha boyanmis, plakasi olmayan arabanin tepesindeki video kamerayla arkadan gelen arabayi kayda aliyorlar.

Deniz ucaklari Vancouver’in biraz disini gezdiriyor.

Bir saatlik bir tur aliyoruz. Eger Vancouver’a giderseniz, mutlaka ama mutlaka yapin derim. Bizim Ege sahilleri gibi, bir suru minik ada, yarimada, daglar, yesillik, yatlar, muhtesem evler. Deniz daglarin arasina girmis, kimi yerde gol gibi gozukuyor, kimi yerde nehir. Inanilmaz guzel.

Sahiller boyunca kesilmis agaclar bekliyor, sonra o agaclari kare kare iplerin icine hapsediyorlar, bir mavnada bu 2030 kareden olusan agaclari cekip goturuyor. Ucakdan balina bile goruyoruz. Inis ve kalkis oldukca yumusak, ben biraz ziplariz denizin ustunde diye tahmin ediyordum ama oyle olmuyor. Mete bunun cok ozel bir dehaviland ucak oldugunu soyluyor. Ayni tip ucagi Harrison Ford kullaniyormus. Yakinlardaki ucak gosterisinden dolayi, B-1B bombalama ucagi yanimizda geciyor. Deniz kenarindaki oyster yetistirme ciftliklerini goruyoruz. Ucak “skookumchuk” balikci kasabasina iniyor, cay ve ihtiyac molasi icin. TC’de olsa hemen bir tavsan kani cay bulunur ama burda yagli hamburger ve cola’dan baska birsey yok.

Simdi merak ediyorsunuzdur, hani yuksekden korkuyordun nasil bindin diye. Kenarlari ve cercevesi olan bir yerdeysem yukseklik korkutmuyor ama acik havadaysam

Feature Articles

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Vancouver offers an eclectic offering of Native American sites, natural canvases and impressive cityscapes.

THIS PAGE Metin in front of totem poles. Planes taking off of the water gave an interesting flight experience.

OPPOSITE PAGE Aerial shots of Vancouver reveal forested islands. Mehpare tries to see how her height compares to that of the totem poles. Locals sit on the shores of Vancouver and enjoy life.

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Feature Articles

VANCOUVER

British Columbia c a n ada from the 11th to 14th august 2006

Feature Articles

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the Turkish Kitchen Kabak Tatlisi Squash Dessert

Malzemeler 1.5 Kilo Balkabağı • 3 lbs. Hubbard or Butternut Squash 1.5 su bardağı tozşeker • 11/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 kahve fincanı su • 1/4 cup water 1 adet karanfil • 1 whole clove 1.5 su bardağı çekilmiş ceviz • 11/2 cups chopped walnuts Kabağı büyük bir bıçakla 2 santim kalınlığında ve 8 santim uzunluğunda dilimleyiniz.

Cut and slice the squash into 2 cm thick and 8 cm long pieces

Poğaça

Kabuklarını soyüp yikayınız.

Remove the skin and wash Sonra bir tencereye muntazam sırayla dizip, uzerine tozşekerini serpip, suyunu, karanfilı ilave ediniz.

Layer the squash slices into a pot and then add the sugar and clove Tencereyi sikica bir kapakla kapatip, ağır ateşte, zaman zaman tencereyi sağa sola sallayarak 45 dakika kaynatarak pişiriniz.

Cover the pot securely with a lid and cook on high, moving the pot left and right. Then cook on low for about 45 minutes

İçi için Malzemeleri Zeytin ezmesi veya peynir Üzerine sürmek için bir yumurta sarısı Mayayı ılık suya ilave edip iyice kabarması için bekleyin. Başka bir yerde ılık süt ve şekeri bir kaşık yardımıyla karıştırıp üzerine mayayı ilave edin. 10 dakika daha bekleyin.

Ateşten alıp, aynı kabın içinde soğuttuktan sonra servis tabağına çikarıp diziniz.

Uzerine çekilmiş cevizi koyarak servis yapınız.

Let the squash cool. Then put on a service plate and sprinkle the ground walnuts on top

Üzerine yumurtayı, sıvı yağı, dereotunu, Piyale Un’u ve tuzu ilave edip kulak memesi kıvamına gelinceye kadar el yardımı ile yoğurun. Hamurun üzerini nemli bezle örtüp mayalanması için 1 saat bekletin.(strech folyayla kaplayabilirsiniz.)

Sürenin sonunda ufak parçalar halinde kopararak ortalarına zeytin ezmesi (ya da diğer malzemeleri) sürüp yuvarlayın.

Afiyet olsun!

TEXT BY LEYLâ AHMED

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Malzemeler 600 gr. (5 su bardağı) piyale un 300 ml. (1.5 su bardağı) ılık süt 10 gr. (1.5 çorba kaşığı) toz şeker 20 gr. (2 tatlı kaşığı) kuru maya 1 yumurta 175 ml. (1 su bardağı) sıvı yağ Yarım demet dereotu Bir tutam tuz 1 fincan ılık su (maya için). (Eğer instant maya kullanacaksanız bu suyu kullanmaya gerek yok.)

Üzerine 1 yumurta sarısı sürüp yağlanmış tepsiye dizin. (fırın kağıdına koyarsanız tepsiyi yağlamanıza gerek kalmıyor.) Önceden ısıtılmış 180 derece fırında 20 dakika pişirin.

NOT: isteğe bağlı olarak peynirli, kıymalı, patatesli içler kullanabilirsiniz.

Cookbook committee would like your recipes for the upcoming cookbook. Contact Verda Gurol: 248.514.7835, verdagurol@hotmail.com Anatolian

Erol Ahmed 2005-2007 TACAM Editor-in-Chief

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With my own personal trip to Turkey this summer, I was most amazed that within a span of only five years since my last visit so much had changed in İstanbul and İzmit. The cities were more crowded and the streets and households permeated the sense of global meshing that is so common. And yet there was a eerie historical lingering everywhere.

Even though change was seen in the Shell gas station and McDonald’s across the street from the 100 year-old Sirkeci Train Station, the fact that there was this station amidst towering apartments and centuries-old mosques, museums and palaces gave an air of sometimes harmonious and sometimes clashing feelings. And I wondered at what was once the entrance gates and streets to a great Empire were now transformed to gimmicky tourist spots and roadside cafés.

With this ever-present confusion and reevaluation, my trip to Uzuntarla was a relief. For what we were doing — making Pekmez — was the ordinary; yet for today, anything of this handmade nature become extraordinary. I furiously photographed and annotated the entire process in hopes of preserving this now “unique” craft. Even immersed within this supposed “folk universe” all of us would return to our televisions and computers or drive down to the city to catch the latest films.

And so I began to question what and why and who: what is changing, why does it have to change and who responds to it? In this month’s Anatolian Voice and in every issue, we create the hopes of preserving and spreading Turkish culture and yet also chronicling the changes within our own community. For we are even isolated from Turkey itself: I often here of Turkish Americans who haven’t visited Turkey in years only to find that it is they — isolated in another country — who possibly have preserved more of “Turkish-ness” and customs than the natvive Turks themselves. These cultural traits then seem to change and be lost in an ever faster pace.

We have Turks visiting distant places like Vancouver seeing the relics and places of different peoples. Then back in Michigan there are weddings with a very American structure but then an older Turk will insist on attaching some money to the bride’s dress in traditional Turkish fashion. Even so, the Turkish pop music often in the background shows off that perfect clash of “East meets West” which is like the fusion created by our own community here in Michigan.

And even though there is this façade of change, of changes in countries, in peoples, in leaves; like the return of each season, we stay fundamentally the same. Was Sirkeci not a new marvel of the industrial age: only to be replaced by airplanes and high-speed trains?

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hange is what fuels any type of growth. Our autumn issue then is both a reminder of what has passed and what is changing, much like the image of autumn change.

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Editor’s Letter

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TACAM Governing Board 2006-2007 Executive Board of Directors president > Mehtap Aksoy vice-president > Beyza Sarıoğlu secretary > Mine Özalp treasurer > Didem Şeyhoğlu past-president > Leylâ Ahmed Board of Directors 2006-2007 Burak Akyalçin Özlem Falkiewicz Keyimu Aihemaitijiang Birsel Küsefoğlu Serkan Özdemir Alternate Board of Directors İlhan Berberoğlu Board of Trustees Emre Bülbül 2007 Rengin Üsmen 2007 Hülya Çakan 2007 Evelyn Sonbay 2008 Cihangir Taşdemir 2008 Ali Kayaalp 2008 Audit Committee Voula Sonbay 2007 Asli Yaşin 2007 Halide Koçak 2008 Yesim Kayaalp 2008

ANATOLIAN VOICE 2006 Summer - Fall EDITOR-In-Chief Erol Ahmed Contributors Mehtap Aksoy, Mine Özalp, Mehpare Gençyüz, Beyza Sarıoğlu, Erol Ahmed, Leylâ Ahmed Published quarterly by The Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan P.O. Box 3552 Farmington Hills, MI 48333 phone / 248.348.4176 fax / 248.626.8279 anatolianvoice@tacam.org Advertising rates per issue Full page 125 USD Half page 50 USD Quarter Page 25 USD contact TACAM for advertising details www.tacam.org

Anatolian

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Anatolian Voice / Summer - Fall / 2006 / volume 8 / issue 26

T h e Vo i c e o f t h e T u r k i s h A m e r i c a n C o mm u n i t y

the A NATOLIA N VOICE is a q uarterly publication of the TURKISH A MERICA N CULTUR AL ASSOCIATION of MICHIGA N

Classified Moving Sale: sofa, love seat, dining table set with 4 chairs, desk with bookshelves and chair, coffee table, end table, table with 2 chairs, some pots and plates, king size mattress, 3 side tables with drawers and lamps, 3 dressers, bookcase, ironing table and iron, microwave, coffee maker, lamp, Epson printercopier and scanner, VCD player.

Contact: call 248.425.6578.

on the cover: complicated intertwining ‘maritime’ motifs scatter amongst floral medallions in a sea of turquoise, red, yellow and white. Turkish,.